Hotfix 2023-11-06
Fix: the game displayed placeholder models for certain types of security units
Unity of Command II News
Kursk DLC Now Available + Dev Diary #2
The Kursk DLC is now live, and you can enjoy this 31-scenario work of beauty from Hexaboo and Frank. Here is the second part of their dev diary:
In our first dev diary, we offered you a look at what you can expect from the two campaigns of Unity of Command 2’s latest Kursk DLC, and by this point, if you’re interested in it at all, you’re sure to be well-familiar with all its specs and features. So for this dev diary, we’ve decided to share a few insights into the personal stories and design process and ideas of Frank and Hexaboo, for whom this expansion is their first.
Hexaboo
[h2]Almost went to Spain[/h2]
It all began last autumn when Daniel, one of the game’s developers, approached me and asked (making sure there was a little suspense) if I wanted to make a DLC campaign for Unity of Command. Which was a bit surprising, given that the last time I made anything for a video game had been about twenty years ago, which I made sure Daniel knew.
Nevertheless, a ‘soft yes’ was said, with a few ideas for what that campaign could be. A mini-campaign dedicated to the Spanish Civil War was a less-obvious favourite at the time, particularly attractive because I know the language and could get deeper into the research. But then everything froze, as 2x2 were busy putting their finishing touches on Desert Fox.
[h2]Set the boundaries[/h2]
Fast forward to December 2022, and the vague proposal of ‘what if you make a campaign’ crystallised into ‘let’s do Kursk’. Which is where it all began. Given some initial hiatus, figuring out how to work with the scenario editor and sharing thoughts about what unit parameters and new sets of specialists we could use in Kursk, I took the ‘canonical’ list of Red Army operations covering a period of about six months starting with the Battle of Kursk, arranged them month by month and put it all on a map. As you can see, there was a fair bit of space left for ahistorical battles, but 16 scenarios was our limit, so it was an easy decision to keep things between 4 July and 1 December 1943, and strictly historical.
[h2]Found dirt in the archives[/h2]
For half a year, talks and videos about this period of the war became the background noise in my home. Books and memoirs, too, gave a general understanding of the events, as well as the mood on a personal level, but everything you see on the map in the game — individual units, their relative strengths, even the locations of individual specialists — would have simply not happened without archival documents, including the massive daily German Situation East maps, captured Army Group Centre maps, online collections like Lexicon der Wehrmacht, and even the occasional browsing session in the Bundesarchiv.
But there is no way I couldn’t mention the fact that Soviet military documents from the period were declassified wholesale back in 2008, and in recent years, Pamyat Naroda (‘People’s Memory’) has become a vast and continuously growing repository of digitised stuff*, with first-hand operational maps, often meticulously prepared, sometimes at as low a level as the regiment, and obviously colossal quantities of other documents. So when I wondered what weather to set in the Kiev mission, I looked up Voronezh Front’s operations record log for late November, found the reported temperatures and allusions to ‘roads only passable by tracked vehicles’, and BAM! the scenario is full of dirt now! You can rely on us going the whole nine yards, to make your playing experience a gloopy living nightmare!
* As an aside, if you happen to read Russian, you can easily choose a random research topic and become a citizen historian. Because you wouldn’t believe the incredible amounts of overlooked original materials that are really out there.
Frank
[h2]Creating Zitadelle 43[/h2]
When creating the initial concept for the campaign structure of Zitadelle 43, a sister campaign to Kursk, we were looking at a very clear design problem. The Germans were on their back foot for most of this period of the war, and besides some of its summer offensive, the Wehrmacht really didn’t have a great time. So we tried to figure out how to turn this period into actual scenarios, and eventually a full campaign set from the German perspective.
In a bid to escape the obvious and terrifyingly repetitive pattern of fighting endless retreat scenarios, I looked for the most interesting and fluid offensive or defensive battles waged by Germany’s generals in 1943. This effort proved largely successful, especially thanks to German operational maps and digitised maps from the Soviet archives, leading to a relatively short but original historical line of scenarios for the German Zitadelle campaign, featuring the work of many well-known commanders like Erhardt Raus, Hermann Balck, Walter Model, Paul Hausser, and others. I focused on the engagements where the Germans either decided to stand and fight or even took to the offensive again, even if in a limited capacity, making it possible for the player to mirror or even surpass the achievements of real, historical generals.
[h2]Finnishing pasta[/h2]
The Zitadelle campaign branches into some alternative history, offering a couple of new fronts, and one of the trips it takes the player on is to the north. Specifically to Karelia and the almost encircled Leningrad. But the Germans aren’t the only ones flexing their muscles here, as the Finns make their entrance as well. Bringing back the Finnish army for a few scenarios let a breath of fresh creative air in, with Goran, our talented artist, making a new and stunning model for the Finnish armoured division and the motorised infantry Jaakari unit. Facing plenty of terrain obstacles and led by two persistent HQs, the Finns make sure the alt-history branch in the north runs well.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Europe, the Allies also have got some new toys of their own. The co-belligerent Italian army makes a return in this campaign, this time as the opponent of the Wehrmacht. They have their own HQ, commanders, and specialist steps, and I hope you find them to be memorable opponents. Not leaving the Axis empty-handed though, since after all, they were supported by a number of Italian units still loyal to their cause on the Apennine Peninsula. These include, the paratroopers of the Nembo division, or ‘La Decima’, appearing in that game as the RSI Paracadutisti special forces specialist available to the Germans in limited numbers in Italy. There are also a number of captured and re-purposed formerly Italian vehicle specialists like the Semovente or M15/42.
[h2]Blessed by our mapmaker[/h2]
It would also be unfair to not mention the amazing and diligent work our colleague Daniel invested into the game’s maps. Thanks to him, the main Europe map has expanded into Eastern Karelia reaching the White Sea and the town of Belomorsk. There is now also a new and gorgeous map of the Island of Leros and a more detailed map of Ukraine created specifically to accommodate this expansion. His advice and coordination skills were crucial to making sure that the campaigns you get in Kursk DLC are as high-quality as possible.
--
And thus, 9 months in the making, Kursk DLC is about to fall eagerly into the hands of the players. We sincerely hope you enjoy playing these campaigns at least as much as we have enjoyed taking this long creative journey, and who knows, it may not be the last time you find us posting dev diaries and feeding you tiny glimpses of our work?
Cheers!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2307940/Unity_of_Command_II__Kursk/
In our first dev diary, we offered you a look at what you can expect from the two campaigns of Unity of Command 2’s latest Kursk DLC, and by this point, if you’re interested in it at all, you’re sure to be well-familiar with all its specs and features. So for this dev diary, we’ve decided to share a few insights into the personal stories and design process and ideas of Frank and Hexaboo, for whom this expansion is their first.
Hexaboo[h2]Almost went to Spain[/h2]
It all began last autumn when Daniel, one of the game’s developers, approached me and asked (making sure there was a little suspense) if I wanted to make a DLC campaign for Unity of Command. Which was a bit surprising, given that the last time I made anything for a video game had been about twenty years ago, which I made sure Daniel knew.
Nevertheless, a ‘soft yes’ was said, with a few ideas for what that campaign could be. A mini-campaign dedicated to the Spanish Civil War was a less-obvious favourite at the time, particularly attractive because I know the language and could get deeper into the research. But then everything froze, as 2x2 were busy putting their finishing touches on Desert Fox.
[h2]Set the boundaries[/h2]
Fast forward to December 2022, and the vague proposal of ‘what if you make a campaign’ crystallised into ‘let’s do Kursk’. Which is where it all began. Given some initial hiatus, figuring out how to work with the scenario editor and sharing thoughts about what unit parameters and new sets of specialists we could use in Kursk, I took the ‘canonical’ list of Red Army operations covering a period of about six months starting with the Battle of Kursk, arranged them month by month and put it all on a map. As you can see, there was a fair bit of space left for ahistorical battles, but 16 scenarios was our limit, so it was an easy decision to keep things between 4 July and 1 December 1943, and strictly historical.
[h2]Found dirt in the archives[/h2]
For half a year, talks and videos about this period of the war became the background noise in my home. Books and memoirs, too, gave a general understanding of the events, as well as the mood on a personal level, but everything you see on the map in the game — individual units, their relative strengths, even the locations of individual specialists — would have simply not happened without archival documents, including the massive daily German Situation East maps, captured Army Group Centre maps, online collections like Lexicon der Wehrmacht, and even the occasional browsing session in the Bundesarchiv.
But there is no way I couldn’t mention the fact that Soviet military documents from the period were declassified wholesale back in 2008, and in recent years, Pamyat Naroda (‘People’s Memory’) has become a vast and continuously growing repository of digitised stuff*, with first-hand operational maps, often meticulously prepared, sometimes at as low a level as the regiment, and obviously colossal quantities of other documents. So when I wondered what weather to set in the Kiev mission, I looked up Voronezh Front’s operations record log for late November, found the reported temperatures and allusions to ‘roads only passable by tracked vehicles’, and BAM! the scenario is full of dirt now! You can rely on us going the whole nine yards, to make your playing experience a gloopy living nightmare!
* As an aside, if you happen to read Russian, you can easily choose a random research topic and become a citizen historian. Because you wouldn’t believe the incredible amounts of overlooked original materials that are really out there.
Frank[h2]Creating Zitadelle 43[/h2]
When creating the initial concept for the campaign structure of Zitadelle 43, a sister campaign to Kursk, we were looking at a very clear design problem. The Germans were on their back foot for most of this period of the war, and besides some of its summer offensive, the Wehrmacht really didn’t have a great time. So we tried to figure out how to turn this period into actual scenarios, and eventually a full campaign set from the German perspective.
In a bid to escape the obvious and terrifyingly repetitive pattern of fighting endless retreat scenarios, I looked for the most interesting and fluid offensive or defensive battles waged by Germany’s generals in 1943. This effort proved largely successful, especially thanks to German operational maps and digitised maps from the Soviet archives, leading to a relatively short but original historical line of scenarios for the German Zitadelle campaign, featuring the work of many well-known commanders like Erhardt Raus, Hermann Balck, Walter Model, Paul Hausser, and others. I focused on the engagements where the Germans either decided to stand and fight or even took to the offensive again, even if in a limited capacity, making it possible for the player to mirror or even surpass the achievements of real, historical generals.
[h2]Finnishing pasta[/h2]
The Zitadelle campaign branches into some alternative history, offering a couple of new fronts, and one of the trips it takes the player on is to the north. Specifically to Karelia and the almost encircled Leningrad. But the Germans aren’t the only ones flexing their muscles here, as the Finns make their entrance as well. Bringing back the Finnish army for a few scenarios let a breath of fresh creative air in, with Goran, our talented artist, making a new and stunning model for the Finnish armoured division and the motorised infantry Jaakari unit. Facing plenty of terrain obstacles and led by two persistent HQs, the Finns make sure the alt-history branch in the north runs well.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Europe, the Allies also have got some new toys of their own. The co-belligerent Italian army makes a return in this campaign, this time as the opponent of the Wehrmacht. They have their own HQ, commanders, and specialist steps, and I hope you find them to be memorable opponents. Not leaving the Axis empty-handed though, since after all, they were supported by a number of Italian units still loyal to their cause on the Apennine Peninsula. These include, the paratroopers of the Nembo division, or ‘La Decima’, appearing in that game as the RSI Paracadutisti special forces specialist available to the Germans in limited numbers in Italy. There are also a number of captured and re-purposed formerly Italian vehicle specialists like the Semovente or M15/42.
[h2]Blessed by our mapmaker[/h2]
It would also be unfair to not mention the amazing and diligent work our colleague Daniel invested into the game’s maps. Thanks to him, the main Europe map has expanded into Eastern Karelia reaching the White Sea and the town of Belomorsk. There is now also a new and gorgeous map of the Island of Leros and a more detailed map of Ukraine created specifically to accommodate this expansion. His advice and coordination skills were crucial to making sure that the campaigns you get in Kursk DLC are as high-quality as possible.
--
And thus, 9 months in the making, Kursk DLC is about to fall eagerly into the hands of the players. We sincerely hope you enjoy playing these campaigns at least as much as we have enjoyed taking this long creative journey, and who knows, it may not be the last time you find us posting dev diaries and feeding you tiny glimpses of our work?
Cheers!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2307940/Unity_of_Command_II__Kursk/
Companion Update for the upcoming Kursk DLC
This update contains bug fixes, asset and localization updates for the upcoming Kursk DLC.
If you have any issues after the update, please check the Steam discussion thread "Troubleshooting and Crashes". Specifically, we often see antivirus "false positives" after updates:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/809230/discussions/0/2243300286290193065/
if you are seeing a very dark game screen (much darker than the screenshots on the Steam store) and you are running an AMD graphics card, please subscribe to the "AMD Fix" in the workshop:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/809230/discussions/0/3644000310592615858/
Cheers!
If you have any issues after the update, please check the Steam discussion thread "Troubleshooting and Crashes". Specifically, we often see antivirus "false positives" after updates:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/809230/discussions/0/2243300286290193065/
if you are seeing a very dark game screen (much darker than the screenshots on the Steam store) and you are running an AMD graphics card, please subscribe to the "AMD Fix" in the workshop:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/809230/discussions/0/3644000310592615858/
Cheers!
Developer Stream w/ Hexaboo
Join the developers in playing the new DLC on release day. Hexaboo will be streaming, with Frank and Tomislav as guests. We'll be playing a little bit of both campaigns included in the new DLC:
Cheers!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2307940/Unity_of_Command_II__Kursk/
- 16-scenario Soviet Kursk campaign, starting with the defensive action at Prokhorovka and covering every significant Soviet battle until the end of 1943.
- Zitadelle 43, a 15-scenario German campaign, featuring the initial German attack and the most important counterattacks up to the battles for Korsun Pocket in early 1944.
Cheers!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2307940/Unity_of_Command_II__Kursk/
Kursk DLC Announced - Dev Diary #1
Unity of Command II reaches it's 8th DLC! Kursk is a rich DLC with two complete campaigns, Soviet and German, plus two separate alt-history tracks in the German campaign! The DLC releases on October 19th, and there are 31 scenarios in total. Given the size of the thing, we have raised our usual DLC price to $11.99 (please don't be mad).
Remarkably, this, one of our finest DLC, is the work of two designers entirely new to the series: prolific workshop contributor FrancenCZ and the youtube prodigy Hexaboo (yes, that guy). Please give them your support as they take over our community posts for a couple of developer diaries.
[h2]Tanks, Dashes, and Models[/h2]
After two campaigns in North Africa and the Middle East and a colossal race around the Don Bend, it seems only fair that Unity of Command 2 stays on the Soviet-German Front, with a hefty expansion that lets you play as either of the sides in the fighting surrounding the Battle of Kursk and the epic events that came after it.
The Soviet campaign that gave the DLC its name covers a period between 4 July 1943 and somewhere in December 1943, going far beyond the fighting around the Kursk salient, the usual focus of this part of the war. From a hard-fought breakthrough at Smolensk, the liberation of Donbass that took two tries, and the elimination of the bridgehead at Taman, to the mad dash to the Dnieper and the increasingly tough maneuvering in the late-autumn mud around Gomel, Kiev, and Krivoy Rog.
Since this was a time of monumental successes for the Red Army, all of the missions in the Kursk campaign represent historical operations whose outcomes, with one notable exception, are in line with what actually happened. Similarly to Don 42, the secondary and challenge objectives we are so used to in Unity of Command either represent slightly optimistic deadlines for areas and cities ultimately liberated, or stand for secondary objectives set in the operation plans themselves. In fact, if you know how the actual operations took place, the campaign makes it possible to emulate the decisions and achieve success.
In contrast, given the lacklustre performance of the Wehrmacht during the period, the opposing-force Zitadelle campaign, just like every other German campaign in this game, invited a bit of a flight of fantasy, resulting in a historical and an alternative branch. The choice depends on how well you do in the increasingly precarious offensive and defensive engagements at the north and south faces of the Kursk salient. In the historical branch, you will find yourself other side of some of the missions in the Kursk campaign, although for the Germans, the fighting extends into 1944, with battles in Belarus and Korsun Pocket.
However, should Zitadelle succeed, you’ll get to travel around, with a renewed effort by Army Group North to take Leningrad and Karelia and a chance for you to command a bunch of Finnish troops. The other theatre is the impending disaster in Italy, a disaster you actually get to avert in the alternative branch. Once again, much attention is paid to Italian troops, which this time, fight for both sides.
[h2]New features at a glance[/h2]
- Dozens of new and updated specialist steps, from Storm Sappers and Soviet recon troops, to Panzer IIIM and Brummbär, to handfuls and handfuls of Italian and Finnish specialists.
- Extra-nasty and difficult-to-suppress elite towed anti-tank gun specialists (Soviet Tank Destroyer Brigades and German 88mm Pak 43), for added horror in the offensives.
- Completely new and gorgeous models for Soviet Regular and Guards Infantry models. Valenki are back in style!
- Reskins of existing models, including the elegant and remarkable T-34 for the Finnish tank division.
- Expanded and updated main map, which now features a detailed and swampy Karelia and Finland, and more complex terrain in southern Ukraine.
- Zoomed-in maps for the city of Novorossiysk and the island of Leros: that’s right, you will get to enjoy a naval landing no matter which campaign you choose!
[h2]Closer than you think[/h2]
The Kursk DLC is virtually completed and only needs some of that final beta-testing polish to make sure you enjoy it frustration-free once we release it on 19 October. And stay tuned for Dev Diary #2 if you are interested in how the campaigns came about, what kind of historical research went into them, and the ultimate question for the ages: is Unity of Command 2 a puzzle game?
Cheers,
FrancenCZ and Hexaboo